Pros and Cons of the Pomodoro Technique

You've probably heard of the Pomodoro technique. But who actually came up with it?

The technique was initially invented by a student named Francesco Cirillo. Looking for a method to increase his productivity and focus while studying, he used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to limit his study periods to 25 minute intervals. Later, Cirillo went on to teach his method and wrote "The Pomodoro Technique: The Acclaimed Time-Management System That Has Transformed How We Work".

Often, the Pomodoro technique is praised as an extremely effective study method - and in some cases, it certainly can be. In this post, I'll go over the concept and method behind the Pomodoro Technique, when it is useful, together with the downsides of this method, and when it should be avoided.

The concept behind the technique

A standard schedule following the Pomodoro Technique could look a bit like this: Study 20-25 minutes, take a 5-10 minute break, and repeat four times.

This means an average study session in total adds up to around two hours. Goal of the method is to induce short, effective bursts of productivity, where you stop studying before your mind fatigues.

Online, there are many Pomodoro tracker apps you can install, most with the time intervals stated above. It's really key here to stop studying exactly when the timer goes off. You may feel like you can study for longer, but once the timer rings, it's time to take a break.

Uses and benefits

Lets first go over the benefits of the Pomodoro Technique.

First of all, it's really easy to use. Since there's even apps that will keep track of your timings for you, there's not much effort involved in sticking to this method. A key criterion for an effective study method is ease of implementation. Since just sitting down to study is already often an effort, additional effort with complex, intricate study methods should be avoided. So, this is definitely a benefit of the Pomodoro Technique.

Second, you take a lot of breaks. I often talk about how breaks are really essential to studying effectively, as your mental energy needs to recover in order for you to be productive. With the Pomodoro Technique, you take 3 - 4 breaks per study session, giving your mind plenty of time to refresh and renew some of its' energy.

The Pomodoro Technique also prevents you from overworking yourself -a normal study session is around two hours in total. This means that you will most likely not hit your limit of deep work (which lies at around three to four hours), but instead you will study very effectively for the majority of the time.

Downsides

One major downside is that the study periods are extremely short. Studies have shown that it takes around 15-20 minutes to enter a deep flow state when working. Your mind needs some time to switch its' attention from one task to another task, and adapt to the parameters and rules of the new task.

Once you've entered this flow state, however, your study period is already almost over. This means a lot of time is not spent as effectively as you might expect. And once you are working effectively, you have to stop as your time is up, even though you feel like you could study for longer.

Another problem with the Pomodoro Technique is that it can cause quite a bit of stress. Constantly having to stick to a strict schedule and hearing an alarm ring can add quite a bit of time pressure. This may result in you working faster, as you want to get as much done as possible in your limited time window.

However, many studies have shown that we learn most effectively when we are in a calm, relaxed state of mind. Additionally, when you're working in a hurry, you may make more mistakes and miss bits of key information.

My opinion

Of course, I advise you to try the technique and make your own judgement - there is no teacher like personal experience.

However, what I believe is that the Pomodoro Technique is great when you're just starting out with studying. If you're not used to remaining focused for long periods of time, and your attention span is still quite short, then this is a fantastic method. It'll make studying a lot less effortful, and it's definitely better compared to not having a method to your studying at all.

But, over time, you'll outgrow it. As your ability to focus and do deep work improves, you'll be able to remain concentrated for way longer than 25 minutes. This is when I recommend that you switch to a schedule with longer study periods. For example, you could do two 45 minute blocks with a 10 minute break in between. Eventually, you could even work in 90 minute blocks.

With this increase in the duration of your study periods, you will waste less time on getting back into a work flow, therefore becoming more efficient and effective at studying.